Five spiritual leaders of modern-day Eckankar

five spiritual leaders of modern-day Eckankar Here is a sketch of the first five spiritual leaders of modern-day Eckankar and their missions.

1. Peddar Zaskq (Paul Twitchell) At his appointment to the spiritual duties, he was immediately the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. His mission was to get the ECK teachings up and running. Time was of no concern.
   
   
2. Dap Ren (see Gross, Darwin) A Living ECK Master whose duty was to maintain the ECK teachings and keep the ECK chelas together.
   
   
3. Wah Z (Harold Klemp) His job, like that of Peddar Zaskq, is to be highly innovative, breaking into new fields of spiritual endeavor. A bridge between the public and secret teachings, the basic and advanced, the old and new, this third stage marks enormous change.
   It is longest in terms of actual spiritual advances and is the keystone to the Golden Age of ECK. He also came in as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master.
   
   
4. The fourth Master is still in training. His skills will keep the ECK teachings pure and the ECK followers together.
   It will take supreme wisdom to fill the fourth slot, a season of consolidation. There will then be much back and forth in the plans and goals in Eckankar: a period of extreme testing. Many original chelas will doubt the ECK, wondering about the validity of the Living ECK Master. However, many more will find Eckankar.
   
   
5. The fifth ECK Master will serve in the sunset of this initial golden age of ECK.
   He will come to his duties as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master, because this entire first cycle is an extraordinary time in the annals of human history. He will display an exceptional gift of imagination.
   His task is to prepare chelas for the dark days to follow his term of office, where the Kal will regain more control over the spiritual affairs of mankind.
   Known or unknown, ECK Masters are here to uplift the human race.
   
   

Update: The fourth of the five spiritual leaders needs a further word. Rather than being a person, it is more accurate to call it a stage, or position.
This position will be filled by five or more successive ECK Masters (twelfth circle of ECK initiations) before the next Mahanta, the Living ECK Master (fourteenth circle) comes to fill the fifth position.
The reason? The coming of the next Mahanta of the fourteenth circle depends on spiritual need. All Souls, in all universes, determine that need, for as the group entity their spiritual progress is the final key.
Will this group entity stay on the fast track to God or stop along the path to rest?
It has chosen to rest.
Free will allows the group entity, and all the individuals within it, to go at their own speed. Earth is a reflection of the universal group entity. Current events since then have seen a gradual slowdown of people's spiritual drive as evidenced in a renewed interest in social welfare and warfare. Until these Souls are ready to shoulder their own responsibilities again, they will rest.
So five to seven Living ECK Masters of the twelfth circle will serve successively in the fourth spiritual leadership stage, or position, until the time is right. After that comes the next Mahanta, the Living ECK Master of the fourteenth circle.

See also passing of the Rod of ECK Power.

For a list of the ECK initiations, see Initiations in ECK.